In November 2013 Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms in recorded history, crashed into the Philippines killing more than 6300 people and displacing millions. In the aftermath of the devastating storm, the Philippine government failed to adequately distribute tens of millions of aid donated from overseas countries to typhoon survivors. Big developers used the chaos as an opportunity to grab lands previously occupied by fisher folk and poor communities.

Typhoon survivors formed an alliance called ‘People Surge’ to protest government neglect and demand pro-people rehabilitation. People Surge highlighted calls for land rights for the poor as key in solving mass poverty and consequent people’s vulnerability to disasters and effects of climate change.

A recent report of the Asian Development Bank noted that Haiyan drove more Filipinos into extreme hardship of living on less than $1.25 a day. They are now exposed to greater vulnerabilities from another extreme weather event.

To mark the second year after Haiyan, Auckland Philippines Solidarity (APS) and the Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa (PSNA) will host the convenor of People’s Surge, Dr Efleda Bautista, for a speaking tour of New Zealand.

She will talk about the struggles of typhoon survivors for justice and how aid international aid, including that from New Zealand, was distributed.

Dr Bautista’s visit provides an opportunity to hear directly from someone at the forefront of struggle for climate justice and against disaster capitalism.